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Life & Arts

Rx Bandits are prescription for boredom

Indie band gives spoonfuls of high-energy antics 
at Thursday night show 

by RUTHIE RODRIGUEZ
The Daily Cougar 

Armed with an unrelenting, energy-infused opening act, Rx Bandits were able to steal the show from headliners Gym Class Heroes Thursday night at Meridian, 1503 Chartres St. 

Rx Bandits delivered a solid rock performance laced with light reggae grooves and jazzy undertones while weaving in and out of improvised frames. 

"When you start having formulas for things then you're just going through the motions. That's not your soul," front man Matt Embree said. "That's just your intellect and your ability to manifest something without any real emotion."

Despite the Rx Bandits' loss of saxophonist Steven Borth II, trombonist Chris Sheets still carried out jazz infused harmonies during each piece including the opener "Sell You Beautiful."

Percussionist Christopher Tsagakis posed as an anchor while delivering a vigorous foundation off which the rest of the band thrived. Bass guitarist Joseph Troy and lead guitarist Embree counter balanced this foundation with intertwining syncopated rhythms and quirky riffs while multi-instrumentalist Steve Choi added a layer of keyboard melodies. 

"The main component to (improvisation) is playing music with people that you trust and love," Embree said. "When you trust each other musically everyone can go on their independent tangents since they know where the song is going to end up."

From the softest solos to the loudest moments when each member is at his energetic peak, Rx Bandits are able to maintain an incredible amount of passion.

And despite drawing from dramatically different sounds the Rx Bandits were able to fuse as one sound with each musician equally invested in the progression of the piece.

For Embree, the kind of experience this creative process yields is a remarkable one. 

"I will never get sick of playing music. It is an entity unto itself that I've loved my entire life," Embree said. "It's an art form in which you can work your entire life and never master. There's always more to learn and different places to explore."

The highly energetic set, lasting 45 minutes, comprised songs mainly from their two latest albums, …And the Battle Begun (2006) and The Resignation (2003). 

The band also thrives off of their fans' energy and at Thursday night's show there was a group of die-hard fans glued to the stage, singing along to each of Embree's resounding vocals. 

"To see people really enjoying your creation and interpreting it in their own way and hopefully becoming inspired is priceless," Embree said. "It's something that I'll never comprehend because we're just playing and it's a blessing to have people connect with you that way."

The Rx Bandits' diverse array of sounds ranging from rock, reggae and jazz was more than enough to trump the alternative hip-hop Gym Class Heroes' headlining act. 

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